By Daniel Edu
Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Aviation, has dismissed calls for President Bola Tinubu to dismiss Bello Matawalle, the former Governor of Zamfara state, from his role as the Minister of State for Defence. The Zamfara State Government accused Matawalle of financial misconduct, specifically related to the state cargo airport project, alleging embezzlement.
Among the accusations, Matawalle was said to have directed the Ministry of Local Government to withdraw N1 billion from the local government joint account on October 25, 2021, and to pay N825 million to contractors without proper valuation.
In a post on X, Fani-Kayode asserted that the allegations against Matawalle are unfounded and are propagated by his adversaries in Zamfara State with the aim of tarnishing his reputation. According to Fani-Kayode, Matawalle played a pivotal role in Tinubu’s presidential campaign, building trust between the North and the South West.
Fani-Kayode emphasized that the idea of President Tinubu considering Matawalle’s removal based on these unverified allegations is absurd. He declared that those attempting to undermine and bring down Matawalle are futile in their efforts.
